***MH***
Bench
- Messages
- 3,974
http://www.rlcm.com.au/latest-news/7949-rugby-league
Thirteen Group 6 teams withdraw from comp
Wednesday, 13 October 2010 10:53
By Alexandra Beech -
The Group 6/Wests combined competition has been cancelled after the country teams voted unanimously last Tuesday to give the Campbelltown teams the boot. Group 6 president Grahame Andrews said the decision from all 13 Group 6 clubs, the referees association and junior association was partially based on disagreements over off-field behaviour. "There's certainly been some grievances," he said. "There's been some dramatic differences of opinion in off-field behaviour," he said.
"There's some incidents that we don't feel have been treated properly off field."
At the Group 6 grand finals at Campbelltown Stadium last month, a brawl broke out in the crowd between 40 people.
A Bringelly man, 23, a Narellan man, 24, a Ruse man, 32 and a Mount Annan man, 20, were arrested and police forced another 30 people out of the stadium for being drunk and disruptive.
Andrews said brawls such as this had not been a catalyst and there had been a number of reasons for the Group 6 decision.
He said they had fought hard to get the combined competition started and there had been some good outcomes from the joint venture.
"It's certainly benefited our first grade competition combining with Wests," Andrews said.
Western Suburbs District Junior Rugby League chief executive Julie Luke said they hoped Group 6 would reverse its decision.
"This outcome is very disappointing and we are particularly saddened for all of our clubs who have competed over the past two seasons and who have worked tirelessly to build the competition into by far and away the largest senior rugby league competition in NSW," she said.